51 ' [\^ol. xliii. 



I crave jour pardon for having referred to this matter 

 with some emphasis, but I must protest against the dis- 

 tortion of the facts of my now well-known film in order to 

 build up a fantastic and altogether fallacious theory based 

 upon no definite evidence whatsoever. 



Never before to my kno^vledge has any species of Cuckoo 

 designedly been watched at close range in the process of 

 laying her egg, and I am sure those of us who witnessed 

 what we did last year will require proof as definite and as 

 certain as that before accepting any theory as to exactly how 

 Cuckoos deposit their eggs in cases where they obviously 

 cannot lay in the nests of their hosts. There is admittedly 

 no scientific evidence upon the subject yet, nor can there be 

 until the remarkable procedure is deliberately anticipated, 

 watched, and filmed. 



By the way, let me here once again correct Mr. Baker in 

 his impression that our Cuckoo observations have been 

 confined to one bird; there is, of course, one " star '^ 

 performer, whom we call Cuckoo " A," sixty-one of whose 

 eggs are exhibited here this evening, but, besides watching 

 her at very close range lay nearly every one of her fifteen 

 eggs last season, we had ocular demonstration that three 

 other Meadow-Pipit Cuckoos laid their eggs in similar 

 fashion. Altogether there were twenty or more witnesses 

 at one or other of these performances, several of whom are 

 here to-niglit, and each of whom, I venture to suggest, will 

 smile at anyone who continues to doubt that any of the 

 Meadow-Pipit Cuckoos under observation did other than lay 

 in the nests. 



I have brought with me here to-night for your inspection 

 my album of photographs, which includes selections from the 

 Film, and also the still photographs taken both by Miss 

 Turner and the cinematographer, Mr. Hawkins. 



It is interesting to find that Messrs. Stuart Baker and 

 Bunyard are of the same opinion with regard to the view 

 that our pliotographs actually support the theory that the 

 Cuckoo regurgitates or "coughs up" her egg into the nest. 

 I cannot, however, understand our friends in this matter, for 

 they have seen the photograph, taken by Miss Turner, of the 



62 



